Groundislava is bringing along oOoOO on a US ToOoOOur, releasing a remix EP to kick it oOoOOff

It took a second to figure out exactly what Groundislava’s name meant. Only upon seeing the cover for his first album did the reference to the ubiquitous childhood game make sense. This is actually reflected in the music as well, if one listens with the right set of ears, which contrasts interestingly with the generally more adult subject matter and content of touring mate oOoOO. Perhaps that’s exactly what they were going for: a representation of the whole of human experience wrapped up in an electronic music show. Such a concert is a bold statement, definitely not the result of apophenia.

Perhaps the key to this enigmatic series of nine performances lies in Groundislava’s new remix EP, Treasure Chest. His choice to remix other more pop-oriented tracks, instead of making the compilation all about him, speaks to a “big picture” view. Choosing tracks to remix with names like “Wide Awake,” “Adorn,” and “Super Bass” definitely indicate that there is something else, some shady ulterior motivation, to this EP.

Oops. Hold on. Medication time.

So ummm, go see Groundislava and oOoOO when they come around. And check out the remix EP. What… what just happened?

It took a second to figure out exactly what Groundislava’s name meant. Only upon seeing the cover for his first album did the reference to the ubiquitous childhood game make sense. This is actually reflected in the music as well, if one listens with the right set of ears, which contrasts interestingly with the generally more adult subject matter and content of touring mate oOoOO. Perhaps that’s exactly what they were going for: a representation of the whole of human experience wrapped up in an electronic music show. Such a concert is a bold statement, definitely not the result of apophenia.

Perhaps the key to this enigmatic series of nine performances lies in Groundislava’s new remix EP, Treasure Chest. His choice to remix other more pop-oriented tracks, instead of making the compilation all about him, speaks to a “big picture” view. Choosing tracks to remix with names like “Wide Awake,” “Adorn,” and “Super Bass” definitely indicate that there is something else, some shady ulterior motivation, to this EP.

Oops. Hold on. Medication time.

So ummm, go see Groundislava and oOoOO when they come around. And check out the remix EP. What… what just happened?

I think I speak for all of us when I say this: it’s about freaking time, Ty! Fuck man, it’s like June almost, and you’re just now announcing your first album of 2013?? Shit, I almost got bored and started thinking about my “purpose in life” for a second! And God knows that’s not what I want to be thinking about. Ack. See? I just capitalized God!

Okay, so maybe we’re a little spoiled here. After all, last year we got so many albums from you that even TMT couldn’t review ‘em all (actually we could have, but we’ve been trying to ration our Foucault quotes until the recession lifts). But yo, EVEN STILL. We don’t want “excuses;” we just want content! So your new album is called SLEEPER and is out on LP, cassette, CD, and digital on August 20 via Drag City? Great. Awesome. Can’t wait to stream it. Now get to work on the next one. God, I can’t wait for that one…

Waaaaayyy back in February, we sorta casually mentioned — in that off-hand manner you’ve come to love/expect from TMT — that Google was maybe almost possibly kinda hinting that they just might be launching a streaming music service similar to the likes of Spotify, Pandora, and whatever site your local tweens use to rip music off of YouTube.

There’s been an exhausting amount of speculation flitting around the internet the last few days, some of which sounded legitimate and some of which did not (some dude on Twitter told me that the streaming service was going to involve actual robots coming to your house and futzing with your stereo for an hour before giving up and telling you to “Just call the damn Geek Squad”). According to The Verge, the streaming service will be based on licensing deals with Warner Music Group (which was already announced by The Financial Times earlier this year), Sony Music Entertainment, and Universal Music Group. The Wall Street Journal reports that YouTube has apparently been vying for licensing deals of its own because, you know, internet battles. Because of Google’s hulking girth, this new service will likely act as a throwing down of the gauntlet for companies like Spotify and Pandora. Not to mention for Apple, who recently delayed the release of their own streaming service.

No word yet on how the service will be integrated with Google Glass, though sources are still reiterating constantly that “Google Glass are literally the best way to pick up women at a bar ever, hands down, forever.”

Sometimes jumping on a bandwagon benefits everyone. A perfect example is the recent string of vinyl-only, soundtrack reissue labels; everyone’s vinyl collection is enriched by this mini-craze: Deathwaltz Records (arguably the progenitor of the fad) keeps cranking out absolutely lovely editions of long out-of-print necessities, while Mondo occasionally poke their head out to throw a welcomed addition into the ring. We are all being spoiled.

And now Waxwork Records is stepping up to shower the world with further gifts of multi-colored vinyl. The label has also reached back into the “established” golden age of horror to bring us the soundtrack to Stuart Gordan’s Re-Animator (which was based on an H. P. Lovecraft story) on appropriately green vinyl, including poster and liner notes from composer Richard Band. And, in an interesting spin on the “first 100 are on a different colored vinyl” ploy, glow-in-the-dark editions are randomly distributed in the normal stock, basically forcing you to buy a copy when it drops July 1.

At this rate, every horror film from the past 50 years will have its soundtrack pressed to vinyl. That’s not a complaint; I’m just hoping they get to the soundtrack for Zaat sooner rather than later.

For decades now, the debate has raged on: is comedy even really funny? Leading authorities in the discipline, such as Adam Sandler, Jimmy Fallon, and of course the last 15 years’ worth of Simpsons episodes, have argued fastidiously (albeit somewhat pedantically) that it is not. But if that’s the case, how does one account for guys like Andy Kaufman, a man SO FUNNY that people even thought it was a joke when he up-and-died in 1984! Hahahaha! LOL! You know, now that you mention it, though, that doesn’t seem so funny to me. Huh.

Anyway, Kaufman blazed one heck of a trail in his campaign to promote comedy’s funniness to be sure, but one of the things he never actually got around to was putting out a comedy record. Luckily, he did record a bunch of shit on the newfangled micro-cassette tapes that he reportedly carried around with him all over the place from 1977-79, accruing some 82 hours of “put-ons, falsehoods and other provocations” and “pushing the limit on logic and emotional investment in everyday situations from the trivial to the deeply personal until any suspension of disbelief is out of the question for all involved, and everyone becomes fully immersed in whatever scenario Andy is suggesting as the new reality.” Wait a minutes, that kinda doesn’t sound funny at all. Sounds intense and awkward… ahhh, which maybe… is why it’s so FUNNY! Right?

Right! And leave it to the hilarious bunch at Chicago’s Drag City label to cull through those tapes and release the best of that never-before-heard stuff on a new album, Andy and His Grandmother, that they’re releasing on July 16. With the help of expert writer, producer, and comedian Vernon Chatman (South Park, Wonder Showzen, Xavier: Renegade Angel, The Heart She Holler, Doggie Fizzle Televizzle, and previous Drag City DVD Final Flesh) and editor Rodney Ascher (director of Room 237), all that “stuff” got magically whittled, shaped, produced, and transmuted into something better than stuff: “stuff for sale.” Isn’t that hilarious? Sounds like comedy’s funniness is about to make a comeback. SNL’s Bill Hader provides narration, and liner notes are provided by Chatman and Kaufman associate Bob Zmuda. Now I’m really rolling on the floor and laughing. Are you?

Andy And His Grandmother tracklisting:

01. Andy Is Making A Record
02. Andy And His Grandmother
03. Andy’s Land Live
04. Andy Loves His Tape Recorder
05. Slice Of Life
06. Andy Goes To the Movies
07. Kick In the Pants
08. Andy Can Talk to Animals
09. I’m Not Capable Of Having A Relationship
10. Hookers
11. Andy And His Grandmother Go For A Drive
12. Sleep Comedy
13. [HONK] vs. [DOG] A
14. [HONK] vs. [DOG] B
15. Andy Goes For A Taxi Ride
16. Andy’s English Friend Paul
17. I Want Those Tapes